Walk With Me
by Surrendered to Christ
Summary: Yugi and Seto are required by their school to visit a foster home, where they meet a group of...interesting boys, living under an abusive foster parent. AU
1. Beginnings

I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

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Walk With Me

Chapter I

Beginnings

_Unless you have enough money, there is no gain without pain. That's the terrible truth. It's true what they say. The truth hurts._

"1-2-3-4, I declare a thumb war." The blonde boy of about ten chanted, his fist interlocked with his friend's. "5-6-7-8 try to keep your thumb straight!" At once, both children began trying to smash down the other's thumb.

"Ha! I win!" the blonde's friends declared triumphantly a moment later.

The child scowled at his light-haired friend. "You got lucky, is all."

"Naw, I'd say he won fair and square." Their audience of one smirked. "C'mon, Ryou, my turn."

"Man this is boring. When's Kira comin' home?" the blonde sighed as his companions started another thumb war.

"She's gone to pick up that new kid. She'll be back soon." Another child replied, walking in the door. He had wild, bleach blonde hair. The child sat down next to the blonde boy.

"I win!" the challenger grinned at the former champion's mock glare.

""Kura, where Malik?" the bleach blonde haired boy asked.

"Beats me. I should be asking you, Marik. Wanna play?" the present champ extended a fist.

"Nope." Malik shook his head, messing his hair up even more.

The next moment, Joey jumped to his feet. "I hear the garage door! Let's go check out the new kid!" He took off at full speed, his friends running to catch up.

Joey skidded to a stop in front of the door to the garage, flung it open, and bounded down the steps. "Kira-kun, you're back! Where is he, huh? Huh?"

"Down, boy." Bakura drawled. "Where are your manners?"

Ryou giggled. "As if _you_ have any."

Bakura scowled and took a swipe at the shorter boy.

"Ok, kids, back off. Give some space, will you?" A young woman stepped out of the driver's seat with a smile.

"Yes, Kira." All four obediently stepped back.

Kira opened the back door of her car, and leaned in. A moment later, she reemerged with a sleeping child safely in her arms. Asleep, the boy looked younger than the rest. His hair was peculiar – black, tipped with crimson and golden bangs fell over his closed eyes. It was messy and unkempt. He was thin, and his exposed arms were covered with scars.

"What's his name?" Joey asked, not disturbed at the least by the child's appearance. After all, he himself had looked very much like that once as all the other children around him had.

Kira smiled sadly. "He hasn't got one."

"I like 'Yami.'" Bakura declared.

"Me too." Ryou and Malik chorused.

Joey pause, studying the sleeping boy. After a moment, he nodded firmly. "Me three."

Kira chuckled. "Yami it is, then."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"This is so dumb." Seto Kaiba sighed as he waited impatiently for a red light. "W_hy _do we have to do this again?"

"Because we want an 'A' in this course." Yugi Mouto replied from the back seat.

"I knew I should have signed up for something else." Seto groaned. "I hate interacting with other people."

"So why in the world did you sign up for community service?!" Téa asked from the seat beside Yugi.

"Because I needed the hours for my résumé!" the CEO growled.

"That's a stupid reason. You already _have_ a secure job!" Tristan scoffed from the passenger seat.

"Shut up. You _are_ aware that the only reason you're in this car is because Yugi used his puppy-eyes on me, right?"

"I'll be quiet." The other teen muttered.

"OK, here we are." Seto sighed ten minutes later, pulling in front of a small house.

"Are you sure? This doesn't look like a foster home." Yugi said skeptically.

"I'm positive, Yugi." Seto said, looking at the address again.

"Well, come on, guys. Let's get this over with." Tristan groaned, getting out of the car.

The four trooped to the front door, and Seto rang the bell.

A moment later, the door opened to reveal a white-haired teen glaring at them. "What ever you're selling, we don't want it." He snapped before anyone had a chance to say anything.

Seto glared right back. "We're not selling anything! We're from Domino High. Didn't anyone tell you we were coming?"

"Nobody told _me_ anything about it!" the teen growled back. "So fuck off."

"Why you–" Seto snarled.

"Bakura, who it is?" a slightly shorter teen with soft brown eyes and white hair similar to his companion's appeared.

"Some idiots form some high school. I'm telling them to beat it–"

"Bakura! I told you this morning, they're _supposed_ to be here!" the other boy said exasperatedly.

"Told you." Seto smirked.

"What makes you think we'd want you here?!" Bakura snapped.

"Bakura, don't be rude. Please, come on in." the shorter teen smiled and opened the door wider. "My name's Ryou, and this, as I'm sure you've already figured out, is Bakura."

"Seto Kaiba. And this is Yugi Mouto, Tristan Taylor, and Téa Gardener."

Ryou shut the door after the last person had walked in. "Actually, the head of the household isn't here right now. If you'd take a seat, I'll get you something to drink. Follow me." He led the four to a small living room, where they sat down.

"Hang on a moment. C'mon, 'Kura, help me." As the two left, Yugi heard Bakura saying "We don't _have_ anything to give them, Ryou! They've got tons of money, by the looks of it. I mean, Domino High is the best in the area! That where all the rich kids go. Let them feed themselves!"

Yugi cringed. Bakura had struck the bulls eyes.

"Hello, what's this?" another teen entered the room. This one had lavender eyes and messy, bleach-blonde hair. "Who the hell are you?"

"We're from Domino High." Yugi explained with a soft smile.

"Hump. The rich snobs. Well, I suppose it'd only be polite to give you my name, huh? It's Marik. Don't forget it." The teen cocked his head. "Say, you look familiar. Seto Kaiba, right? The CEO of KaibaCorp.?"

"That's me." Seto nodded with an arrogant smirk.

"Ohh…this is interesting. HEY MALIK! C'mere!"

"What is it?" What looked like taller replica of Marik entered the room. Looking closer, Yugi noted that Malik was taller, bigger, and darker than the other.

"This is the filthy-rich CEO of KaibaCorp." Marik grinned, jerking a thumb towards Seto.

"Is he now?" Malik raised an eyebrow. "What the heck is he doing here?"

"He's a _guest,_ not an animal at the zoo." Ryou shoved the taller teen out of the way. "Be polite. Here you go. It only water, but it's really all we've got."

"Thank you." Yugi, Téa, and Tristan chorused. Seto 'humph'ed and nodded.

"What's all the fuss about?" A teen almost as tall as Seto asked, walking in.

"We've got guests. Guys, this is Joey." Ryou nodded towards the blonde.

"Hi." Yugi said with a polite smile.

"Do you all live in this house?" Téa asked curiously.

"Yup. There's actually one more. Which reminds me, where is he?" Ryou looked up at Bakura.

Bakura shrugged. "YAMI! COULD YOU COME HERE, PLEASE?"

"Wow, he actually said 'please'" Seto muttered, rubbing his ears.

Bakura glared at him. "Just because I'm not polite to you, doesn't mean I can't be polite to someone else."

Soft steps announced the arrival of the final person in the house. He was a young teen, shorter than his house-mates. His tri-colored hair closely resembled Yugi's except it was very messy.

"And this is Yami." Ryou smiled.

The mentioned teen kept his eyes trained on the ground, and walked over to stand by Bakura.

"No offense, but it's a small house. Does it really fit all of you?" Tristan asked skeptically.

"It does its best, and that's always been enough." Ryou answered.

"Ijuni-san is back." Joey commented, cocking his head at the sound of the engine shutting off in front of the house. "If anyone needs me, I'll be in my room." With that said the tall blonde left.

"Me too." Marik commented, and left also. Malik followed him. Bakura gestured beckoned to Yami, and the two followed their house-mates' example and took their leave.

Ryou, seeing he was the only one left, sighed. "Well, come on." He led the four to the front door.

A man in his late twenties, early thirties, stood there, flinging his coat into a small closet by the door. The man's clothes were dirty and rumpled. His black hair looked like it hadn't been washed for days. He looked up with ice blue eyes as the five teens came up to him.

"Who are these?" he asked with a deep frown. "I told you boys, no friends over without permission."

"These are the student from Domino High, Ijuni-san." Ryou said, keeping his eyes down.

The man instantly straightened. "Ah, yes. I'm sorry I wasn't here to meet you all. And please excuse my appearance. It's my line of work, you see. Messes a person up."

Seto, the unofficial spokesperson for the group, stepped forward. "That's all right, we understand. You're Ijuni-san, the runner of this foster home, correct?"

"Yes that's me." The man replied. "Did you meet the boys already? I trust you were treated politely?"

"Quite. You have an interesting group."

"Yes, yes I do. Ryou, did you give our guest something to drink?"

"Yes, Ijuni-san, I did." Ryou said, still not looking up.

"Good. Come, let us talk." Ijuni-san beckoned to the group from Domino High. They followed him into another room. Ryou took his chance and fled up the stairs.

"You guys left me!" he hissed in a very uncharacteristic manner as he entered the room his foster brothers were in, shutting the door quietly behind him.

"Sorry Ryou. You're the one Ijuni likes most." Joey was sprawled at the head of one of the two beds in the room.

"Yeah. He's least likely to get mad at you. He just doesn't seem to like the rest of us that much." Marik was sitting crossed legged next to Joey.

"That's because the lot of you have no manners." Ryou growled, flinging himself down next to Marik.

"Exactly. So how can you blame us for leaving you?" Malik asked lazily, stretched out of the floor, leaning on the second bed.

Ryou sighed, knowing the others had him cornered. Looking past the top of Malik head at the second bed, he frowned. "Bakura, is something wrong?"

"Something's up with Yami." The taller teen murmured, not taking his eyes off the teen curled up under the covers in front of him.

"Something's always up with Yami. It's become almost normal by now." Malik muttered. "Just leave him be."

"I meant more than usual, fool." Bakura snapped back. "He kinda collapsed into bed the moment we got back in the room. That ain't normal, even for him."

Ryou slid off his bed and walked over to the sleeping teen. Maybe it was just his imagination, but Yami looked paler than usual. The boy brushed some of the golden bangs off the other's face.

Just then, the door opened, and all of the occupants of the room (save Yami) looked up. Their guests stood there.

"Nice room. Whose is it?" Tristan asked.

"Ours." Marik replied shortly. "Something you want?"

"Téa and I have been put to cleaning duty. These two are here to 'socialize'." Tristan replied. "So we'll leave now." And, true to his word, they left.

Seto and Yugi walked in. "Do you _all_ sleep in here?"

"Yup." Malik said. "So it's nice and warm in the winter."

"But hot as hell in the summer." Joey sighed.

Seto sat down on the bed nest to Marik. "We're supposed to socialize, as Tristan said. Whatever that means."

"It means talk." Yugi replied, going over to stand by Ryou. "Is he ok?" the teen asked, indicating Yami.

"I hope so." Ryou muttered. "With him, it's always hard to tell if he's sick or not."

"Why?" Seto asked, curious.

"That's just the way he is." Bakura said. Then he added, "Not that it's any of your business."

"This is going to be a long afternoon, isn't it?" Seto sighed. "I could be getting things done."

"You're right, you could be." Marik stood, and went over to rummage in a handmade drawer. He came back with an old radio. "So. Think you make this ancient thing work?"

The rest of the afternoon passed with Seto trying to fix the radio with the limited supplies he had, and Yugi talking with various people in the room to try to learn more about these new acquaintances.

Yami woke up almost two hours after he fell asleep. He didn't say a single word the whole time Yugi and Seto were in the room.

At last, the time came for the four to leave. And so, without further ado, they did.

Closing the door, Ijuni turned to face his charges.

"I heard about your rude behavior from Tristan." The man said, narrowing his eyes. "I thought I told you to behave yourselves in front of any guests."

"You just don't want to embarrass yourself, and ruin you non-existent rep." Malik snapped. "Leave us out of it."

"We act as we want." Bakura added.

"So f--- off." Marik finished.

Ijuni's face turned red. "Why you ungrateful little –"

Suddenly, he lunged forward, grabbed Yami up by the collar, and slammed the boy into a wall.

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Please review 'n tell me whatcha think!


	2. Punishment

Thank you to those who have reviewed!

Warnings: Major Yami-angst coming up...and Bakura OCCness

I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

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Walk With Me

Chapter II

Punishment

_A true friend is someone who's always there. It's a precious thing that some people could not knowingly go through their entire life without. Those who find one are lucky indeed._

"Hey!" Bakura yelled. "What do you think you're doing?! Leave him alone!"

Ijuni smirked, knowing he had struck a nerve. Bakura was very protective of the things he considered as "under his protection." Yami was on that list.

The trapped teen struggled slightly, but stopped as he was slammed into the wall again. This time, he let himself go limp, his breaths coming in short, ragged pants.

"Let him go!" Bakura roared, lunging forward.

He skidded to a stop, however, when the man pulled out a knife and pointed it at Yami. "Stay where you are, 'Kura-chan, or your kid brother gets it."

Bakura froze.

Ijuni smirked. "You dare disobey me? You dare smart mouth and insult me? To me, you are all one. One obnoxious little annoyance. If anyone of you irritates me, one member of your little group is going to pay the price. Poor little Yami here just happened to be unlucky enough to be picked today."

"Bastard! You're just picking on him because you know you have it won!" Marik yelled.

"Yeah, coward! Why don't you go pick on someone your own size?!" Malik scowled, backing his foster-brother up.

Ijuni snarled and plunged his knife into Yami's shoulder. The boy jerked. Ijuni yanked the knife back out.

Bakura had made a noise when Yami had been stabbed. He was now sending the man a glare that promised revenge.

"Anyone have anything else to say?" Ijuni asked, looking at the group with narrowed blue eyes. "No? Why, what're these looks supposed to mean? You don't like what's going on?" the man smirked, and drove the knife forward again. This time, it left a deep gash across the wounded teen's chest.

"Punishment for having rebellious thoughts." Ijuni whispered. He looked again at the group of boys. Everyone was glaring at him with pure hatred. Except Ryou. The young teen was looking away, trying to keep tears from spilling out of his eyes.

"'Kura-chan, I'm not sure I like the look I'm getting from you. In fact, I don't like any of the messages your eyes are sending me." The man scowled.

The blade flashed several times. When it halted, it left a bloody teen starting to be bathed in his own blood.

"Any of you have anything else to say?" The armed man sneered, turning once more towards his young charges. The boys were now swallowing their prides and avoiding eye contact.

"Good." Ijuni grinned. "Oh, and," he plunged the knife deep into Yami's other shoulder, and again, yanked it out. "That was to sum it all up." The man grinned manically. "Clean this mess up. I don't want any blood stains." He dropped Yami, who crumpled to the floor, blood immediately starting to pool around him. Ijuni glanced at the bloody teen, shrugged, and gave his already wounded shoulder a good kick. Then grabbed his coat and walked out the door.

The moment he was gone, Bakura darted forward. "Yami." He whispered, picking the younger boy up. "Hey, c'mon, wake up."

Yami didn't respond; he had fallen unconscious.

"I'll go get the first aid kit." Joey said, hurrying off.

"He is gonna die?" Ryou asked in a scared voice, coming to stand behind Bakura.

"No! Don't be silly!" Marik scowled. "He'll be fine." But Malik, who was next to him, heard him mutter softly to himself, "I hope."

"Here, get him on the blanket. The f---er will have our heads if this place gets any more messed up." Joey said, returning with a box under his arm and a blanket in his hand. "Marik, Malik, could you start cleaning up?" The two nodded, and left to get supplies.

Bakura gently laid the boy on the blanket. Ryou knelt down beside him, and, together, the three began bandaging their friend.

The next morning, Ryou woke up squished in his bed. This wasn't surprising, as they had to accommodate for an extra person. They had agreed it was for the best to let Yami have a bed to himself.

The white-haired teen sighed, and sat up, glancing over at the other bed. He smiled when he saw Bakura sitting by Yami's side, propped up against the wall, and fast asleep.

_He must have sat there until he finally dozed off._ Ryou thought. Sighing, he got out of bed, careful not to wake his companions, who were all still sleeping peacefully, and walked over to Yami. Sitting down in a beat-up old chair that had been place by bed, Ryou took a cloth that was next to the pillow and started to wipe the teen's sweat-drenched face.

"We should get him to a doctor."

Ryou jumped, and looked up. Bakura was looking not at him, but at the unconscious boy between them.

Ryou sighed, settling back down. "We can't. That kind of thing cost money. And besides, Ijuni would never–"

He was cut off as Yami made a small whimpered, and shifted. The movement must have hurt, however, because his eyes suddenly flew open and he gave a small yelp.

"Shh, Yami-chan, stop moving." Ryou said soothingly. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?" the teen talked in a soft, calm voice, gently stroking his foster-brother's hair.

The younger boy let out a slight whimper, clearly letting the others know how much his wounds were hurting him. He was usually very good at keeping his emotions to himself. Although he was smaller than the rest, he could endure the most pain without emotion.

There was a knock on the door. It opened, and a head poked in, looking around. "Hello. Why aren't you all up?"

"Ms. Mari? Why're you here?" Marik muttered sleepily, blinking at the woman – their personal tutor provided by the government.

Ms. Mari smiled. "It's Monday, Marik. School." She came in, and dragged the covers off the slumbering forms. "Up, now."

The boys all groaned. Joey literally rolled out of bed, and hit the floor with a thump. Malik, not watching where he was going, accidentally stepped on the blonde, and ended up tripping himself.

Ms Mari shook her head with a smile, used to the antics by now, and looked over at the three on the other bed. Seeing Yami's pained expression, she frowned and came over to them.

"What's wrong?" she asked, kneeling down and putting her hand on Yami's forehead. "Are you sick?" The covers prevented her from seeing the bandages wrapped around the boy's chest.

Fear flickered through the Yami's glazed eyes, and he tried to back up, which wasn't a good idea. He let out a cry as pain shot through him in waves.

Ms. Mari's frown grew deeper, and she stood up. Ryou was now busy trying to calm the smaller boy down.

"What's going on? Bakura?" She looked down at the teen, locked gazes with her, stubbornly refusing to talk.

"Bakura, have you been up all night?" Marik asked, coming over. Joey and Malik were still tangled up on the floor.

"Mostly." The with-haired teen grunted.

"Marik! Tell me what's going on!" Ms. Mari said, her voice raising.

Marik raised an eyebrow. "Well, Teacher, I'd love to – if I didn't know that it'd bring more trouble for us."

Ms. Mari paled. "Oh no…did he…?"

Ryou winced. Silently, he pried the pitifully thin blanket from Yami's hands and pulled it away to let the woman see the boy's chest. They were not allowed to speak of the abuse to any authority figure – Ijuni had made that clear the first day they had met – but the man hadn't said anything about _showing_ and _implying_ of abuse.

Bakura sighed at the sight of the bandages. "I changed them during the night, but it looks like I'll need to do it again…"

"Aw, damn." Joey muttered, coming up behind them. Apparently, he and Malik had been able to sort themselves out. "He's gone too far this time."

"This time? It's happened before?" Ms. Mari gasped. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"For a couple of reasons, the most obvious being that you never asked. The second being that we don't want to get killed." Malik said dryly.

"I'm reporting this to the police." The woman said quietly, fuming. "This is sick. We need to get him to a hospital –"

"Mari-san, don't. Ijuni's the type to hunt things down. We get him jailed, he's either gonna be let out or break out. And he's gonna hunt _us_ down. He's got friends, too, who'll be too willing to do what he can't. You do know he's connected with the head of the most powerful gang leader in this country?" Marik sighed, clearly not liking what he himself was saying.

"What?!" the teacher stared at him. "That's a lie! The government-"

"The government obviously doesn't know. He's only in this for the money-"

"That's just sick."

Everybody snapped their heads towards the door. Yami, however, started shivering, probably due to cold and fear. His senses were always hyped up after a beating.

"What're you guys doing here?" Joey yelped. At the door stood none other than Yugi and Seto.

"We have a day off, and I convinced him to drive us here." Yugi explained. His normally friendly violet eyes were aflame with anger. "And we heard enough to know what was going on."

"We really _should_ get him to a hospital." Seto said, concerned eyes looking over at Yami. "And for goodness' sake, put that blanket back on. He's going to catch hypothermia. It's not exactly warm out today. In fact, it's snowing."

Ryou hurriedly complied. Joey got the blanket from the other bed and tucked it around the boy's lean frame, being careful not to hurt him any further.

"We have to do something about this!" Yugi growled. "It's not right."

"It may not be right, be there's nothing we can do about that. I thought you listening? Besides, the damned government is desperate for any man who's willing to take a couple street kids into their home. There're only so many good-hearted, willing people out there, and too many homeless and neglected cases." Marik shook his head. "They'll probably tell you this is 'disciplining.' Which, by the way, the guardian is allowed to do."

"This is 'discipline'?!" Yugi squeaked.

"You haven't been out in the world much, have you?" Bakura rolled his eyes.

"Ms. Mari, _do_ something!" the short teen cried, turning to the only adult.

"I'm afraid they're right." She replied tiredly. "There's really nothing we can do that won't put them in even more danger."

Joey sighed, and left the room. Yugi turned to look at Seto. "_Something_'s gotta be done! Seto, isn't there anything you can do?" he pleaded.

"I'm the CEO of a _gaming_ company, Yugi. What the heck do you think I could do?"

"Can't you use you influences on the government, or something?"

"Are you really that powerful, Kaiba?" Joey asked, returning with a box tucked under his arm, which he gave to Bakura, who accepted it a nod. He lifted Yami's head onto his lap as gently as he could, removed the blankets from the boy's chest, and started to undo the bandages on his left shoulder.

"I can get almost anything I want from the gaming and public relations department, but I'm not all that connected to the departments you're wanting me to deal with." Seto replied, shaking his head.

"Ouch." Yugi winced, seeing Yami's wound. Even after all this time, it was still bleeding. The boy let out a moan, shutting his eyes tightly, clenching his hands around his blanket.

"That'll need stitching." Seto stated.

"Do you know how?" Ryou asked, looking up hopefully.

The CEO shook his head. "No. Sorry."

"There really isn't anything we can do?" Yugi asked, close to tears.

"No. Yugi, if we could've done anything, we'd have done it ages ago." Ryou sighed, his hand moving to cover Yami's. He gently took the teen's clenched hand into his own, offering comfort the only way he could.

"You think we want this to happen?" Marik asked harshly.

"N-no, I just-"

"Look, he hits the rest of us, too." Malik growled. "It's not just Yami, although he seems to get the worst of it. Trust me; we would report this if we could."

"Don't move, Yami, you're just going to hurt yourself more." Bakura murmured quietly. Yami had started to struggle, but now forced himself to lie still.

Yugi sighed. "How long have you guys known each other?" He asked after a moment's silence.

"Years." Joey answered. "Me n' Ryou, we knew each other from school. We were bought in to foster care together, after one of our teachers found out about our parents. 'Kura, Marik, and Malik knew each other on the streets together, and were bought in together. The five of us got placed in the same home right off. Ryou was the youngest one, he was six. Malik's the oldest, if only by two months. He was nine. We spent a total of two years at that first home. It was the one and only one we've been to that actually cared. Yami joined us there, a year after we moved in."

"You've all been together since?" Seto raised his eyebrows. "Isn't that rare?"

"Very. But we won't let them split us up. We can all be _very_ difficult when we want to be. Even Ryou, believe it or not." Marik grinned. "This is the only family we've ever known."

"They tried. Remember that first time?" Malik chuckled at the memory. "They had to take you kicking and screaming." He nudged Marik in the ribs.

"Kicking, screaming, hitting, biting, and yelling out every single inappropriate word he knew five times through. And believe me, he knew a _lot_, even at that age." Ryou shook his head, cracking a small grin.

Seto and Yugi both sweatdropped.

"But how did you manage to convince them to let you stay together?" Seto asked.

"They took Ryou and Bakura next." Joey said. "That's when things really went haywire. Malik started going crazy –"

"So did you!"

"Right, me too. We wrecked the house. Kira – she was the one who owned our foster home back then – had to lock us in a room until we got too tired to even stand. It was bad. I remember how _angry_ I was."

"Angry? I was enraged!" Malik hissed.

"You don't even want to know what_ I_ did to the place they took me. Ryou gave them one hell of a time, too. He wouldn't stop crying, wouldn't eat, and refused to let me out of his sight." Bakura smirked. "Bet they learned their lesson. They give us a family, and then they tear it apart. Sure, we're just gonna stand by and let them do it. _Not!_"

Marik smiled a slightly insane smile. "I gave that officer permanent scars. I also trashed his office, and locked him in the bathroom. All in the first hour I got there."

"And Yami…boy he made Kira shed tears, and she's _tough!_ You remember that, buddy?" Joey asked the boy on the bed. Yami managed a small smile. "He didn't even do anything physical, which made it more amazing to me. He just sat in a little corner, watching the door, and refusing to do anything. And I mean _anything_. He wouldn't respond to words, wouldn't eat, wouldn't drink, and wouldn't leave to go to bed. Heck, I don't even think he left to go to the bathroom…though, he probably did it when we weren't looking."

"Kira went nuts, didn't she?" Malik grinned fondly at the memory.

"Aww, I kinda felt bad for her. It wasn't really her fault." Joey brushed his bangs away from his eyes. "But yeah, she freaked. I mean, with us, at least we ate. We were trashing the place, but still…Yami was literally killing himself."

"What happened after?" Yugi asked, fascinated.

"She made a desperate call to the social workers, saying we weren't taking the separation to well." Malik responded. "And found out that those three weren't exactly being cooperative. So they instantly agreed to let them come back and figure out what to do with the lot of us."

"I was in my room, bouncing off the walls. Everything that could possible be broken had been destroyed." Joey commented. "And suddenly, I hear, ''Kura! Ryou! You're back!' That was the first time Yami had spoken in two, almost three days. Boy he was happy. I don't think he let those two leave his sight for days afterward. And then Marik came back and we were all happy again. For the time being."

"You're a close-knit family." Seto observed.

"Yeah. Those idiot social workers didn't dare pull that stunt again. Another day and Yami'd have died of dehydration."

"There. All done. Get some sleep, Yami." Bakura smiled at the boy, showing affection that was very rare from him. He got off the bed, and almost fell down. "Damn. My legs are asleep."

Yugi and Seto went home soon afterwards, knowing there was nothing else they could do. Ms Mari stayed for a while, before leaving at her usual time, saying she'd be back tomorrow.

Yami slept most of the day. He had to be helped up a couple of times to use the bathroom, which was a very painful experience. He ate only a few small bits the whole day, and only because he had been begged to.

The next few days passes similarly. The healing process was slow and painful, but Yami did his best to take it in stride.

Ijuni hadn't taken a shot at any of them since their "punishment," which was a relief. But all good things must come to an end. One evening, when Ijuni was in the living room, watching TV and drinking beer, and the boy were upstairs, the front door burst open.

* * *

Hope you liked it, and please review! 


	3. Action

I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

* * *

Walk With Me

Chapter III

Action

_The best of intentions could make you the worst of enemies. As a Chinese saying goes, 'Sometimes, you try to do a good thing, but end up getting struck by lighting.'_

Yami, who had been sleeping, was awake instantly. He turned a bit too sharply, and winced as his body none too gently reminded him that there would be no moving like that for quite a while.

"What the-" Bakura muttered, looking at the door.

Joey opened it the door, walked out, looked down stairs, yelped, and raced back in, slamming the door after him.

"What is it?" Marik asked, a sense of foreboding rushing through him.

"Police." Joey squeaked. "A whole bunch of them. They're storming the house."

The boys exchanged a look. They all jumped a when the door burst open.

Three policemen walked in, guns drawn. Yami chocked. He hated police officers.

The policemen paused, then smiled and lowered their weapons. Turning, one yelled out the door, "Hey! We found'em!"

"Are you boys alright?" The tallest of the three policemen asked, walking forward, eyes set on Yami, who was obviously struggling to contain his fear.

Bakura got up and planted himself in front of his foster-brother. "What's it you want?" He asked harshly. No one was allowed to scare Yami.

"Easy. We got a call reporting major child abuse in this house, and took action. That's all. We don't want to hurt you."

Bakura paled. Ryou moaned, and placed his head in his hands. Joey looked sick. Malik remained as impassive as ever, but a flicker of fear raced through his eyes.

Marik stood up, eyes flashing. "Who told you?!"

"Your friends-"

"I'm sorry guys, I had to do it!"

They turned to see Yugi at the door, Seto behind him.

"You-" Marik hissed. He lunged, but Joey caught him, and held him back. The taller teen leaned down and whispered something urgently in his ear. Marik pause, then reluctantly calmed down, and settled for sending Yugi and Seto a death glare.

The tall policeman frowned. "I understand that you have some concerns about your foster-father coming to hurt you, but don't worry. You're under the state's care. We've sworn to protect you. And with enough evidence, Ijuni-san will be locked up for a lifetime. Come; let me take a look at him. He'll need to be taken to the hospital."

Bakura sighed, and moved away, going to sit by Yami, who was still shaking. He wrapped the smaller teen into a gentle hug, in that moment giving a rare display of affection. The policeman smiled, and came forward. He started to unwrap Yami's bandages, causing the boy to wince. Murmuring a soft apology, the man continued, taking care not to cause the boy any more unnecessary pain. When the bandages finally fell away, the other two police gasped, and the tall one looked taken back.

"What weapon did he use?" the man asked, eyeing the deep wounds that scarred the thin chest.

"Knife." Bakura grunted.

The man sighed. "Will you carry him? We'll get him onto the ambulance. The rest of you should come, too. We'll give you a check up."

Nodding, Bakura scooped Yami carefully into his arms. It wasn't hard; the younger boy was very light.

He followed the police officer out of the room.

Hours later, Yugi found himself in the waiting room of the Domino Hospital, Seto beside him. Everyone else was there, too, besides Yami, who was still in the operation room. Bakura was fuming, angry that he hadn't been allowed to go with the younger boy. Marik still hadn't finished glaring at the two Domino High teens. Ryou had fallen asleep, exhausted, his head on Bakura's shoulder. Joey was nodding off, too. Malik had joined his look-alike in glaring at the two teens that had gotten them into this new mess.

It was going to be a long night.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yugi sighed, walking down the long hospital hall. The foster-children still hadn't forgiven him for what he had done. He couldn't really blame them. But it sure made him feel very, very guilty.

He opened the door to one of the rooms, number 901, and walked in.

Surprisingly, Yami was the only occupant of the room. The others, who usually took up all the chairs, were absent.

Yami opened his eyes when Yugi walked in. The crimson-eyed boy was recovering, slowly but surely. His wounds had been properly dressed. It was discovered that he had several broken bones no one had known about, and they were now healing nicely. He had been suffering form malnutrition, as his foster-brothers had, if a bit more severely, but the hospital had done a good job of fixing him up.

The slightly taller teen smiled lightly upon seeing his visitor. Unlike the others, Yami, who could be quick to forgive, no longer held a grudge against Yugi and Seto, for which they were grateful.

"Where're the others?" Yugi asked, sitting down in the chair beside the bed, the one Bakura usually occupied.

"'t doctor said he wanted ta talk to'em." Yami replied, his soft voice a bit slurred.

"Oh." Yugi said, nodding to show he understood. "How're you feeling?"

"OK." was the short reply.

There was a rather awkward silence –

–which was broken by the door opening. Ryou came in, and stopped, seeing Yugi. He looked suspiciously close to tears.

The white haired teen ran a hand through his hair uncomfortably, averting Yugi's eyes. "Hello."

"Hi." Yugi replied, every bit as uncomfortable as the other boy.

"I…um…the doctor wants to see you." Ryou said, almost shyly. "He asked me to see if you were here. He's in his office, room 166."

Nodding, Yugi stood, flashed Yami a smile, and left.

Ryou moved forward to take his place.

* * *

C'mon, please review...please? 


	4. Waiting

I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

* * *

Walk With Me

Chapter IV

Waiting

_Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. Sometimes, it's best to forgive and forget. A grudge is a heavy burden to carry around._

Hours later, Yugi lay on his bed, thoughts racing through his mind. He was in denial.

The doctor's words were speeding around his brain at light speed, bouncing off his skull.

It wasn't happening. It _wasn't_!

But it was.

Yugi buried his face in his pillow. _I should be happy! I got him to the hospital. If I hadn't, he'd have died for sure._

_But how can I be happy? He's my friend._

Yugi moaned.

_"I know it's hard," the doctor had said "but there's a chance. We caught it just in time."_

_Just in time._ Yugi laughed bitterly. _Is that a good thing? If so, then why do they keep staring at me as though I'm to blame for this?_

_"We'll do our best. But we must tell you, you want to be prepared for the worst."_

_Well great. _THAT_ just made him feel a lot better._

_"The odd are against him."_

_He can't die. _Yugi though miserably. _He's so young. Too young. Too many things he hasn't seen, hasn't done…_

_You barely know him. _Another voice interrupted. _Why are you so concerned for him?_

_He's my friend._

_You barely know him. _The voice repeated.

_I…I know, but there's something about him…_

Yugi sighed deeply. There were so many emotions; he couldn't keep track of it all. If this was how he, a practical stranger, was feeling, how the heck could his family cope?

_Family._ He gave a bitter laugh._ Why is the world so cruel? He's suffered enough. He hasn't even got a family, one who'll support him through this…_

_All he has are his foster-brothers. The family the government gave him. And Seto, I guess. He'll be there. _

_And me._

_I hope we're enough._

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The night was a restless one. Yugi woke early, and forced himself through school. Seto, too, had gotten the news, and was unusually solemn that day.

After school, Yugi immediately took the bus to Domino City Hospital. Seto couldn't come right now, he had a brother to pick up and care for. During the bus ride, a thought repeated itself in Yugi's head like a mantra. _Please be ok. Please be ok. Please…_

Yugi decided that that was the longest bus ride he had ever experienced.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Seto finally found time to go to the hospital at ten that evening, after Mokuba had been put to bed.

He found Yugi and the others in the waiting room.

"Are we still waiting?" he asked, surprised, coming to sit by Yugi. The shorter teen looked exhausted.

"They should've been done hours ago." Bakura muttered, voice betraying his worry. He didn't seem to realize who he was talking to. He had made a point to avoid talking with the two after _that _night.

Joey was stroking Ryou's hair absentmindedly, his eyes never wavering from the corridor that led to the rest of the hospital. Ryou was doing his best to stay awake; it was clear that he had gotten very little, if any, sleep last night. Marik had given up that fight, and had dropped off into a light doze, head on Malik's shoulder.

"It's been the longest hours of my entire life." Yugi murmured. "Thank goodness Grandpa agreed to let me stay here. I told him you'd take me back home."

Seto nodded.

"I hope they get done soon. I can't take much more waiting."

But it would be hours before the waiting was put to an end. And as the seconds dragged on, slowly forming minutes, which, in turn, one by one, became hours, Yugi would be forced to sit through what he, even when his hair grew gray, would still consider as one of the longest nights of his entire life.

* * *

Sorry if this was a bit confusing...

Please review and tell me what you think!


	5. Recovery

Sorry it's been so long. I just got back from Hong Knog. Thank you for all your reviews! we are nearing the end, and the story's going to get really uncharastically sweet and a bit corny. Hope you don't mind... The characters are going to get major OCCness.

So. Enjoy!

I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

* * *

Walk With Me

Chapter V

Recovery

_Nothing is ever easy. Life is tough. But having just one person to lean on can reduce your burden by more than half._

"You should take it easy." Bakura fussed, hovering like a mother hen, as his younger foster-brother attempted to sit up for the first time in weeks.

Yami sighed. "'Kura onii-chan, I'm fine." He carefully pushed himself up, propping himself on his pillows. Despites his words, however, he still had to take a few deep breaths at the end of his feat.

"Careful, you don't wanna do anything bad to yourself…"

"Aww, Bakura, lay off him." Marik sighed, slightly annoyed by this amazing show of care Bakura was giving. He kinda wished the older boy would go back to being his usual uncaring self. All the fussing was driving up a wall.

"I'm fine." Yami gave an innocent smile. Then, seeing that Bakura wasn't really buying it, he added, "Really!" In what he hoped was a convincing tone.

"You still have a long way to go." The doctor said, coming into the room just in time to catch that last sentence. "Though I must say, you're a strong boy. You're recovering very well, and doing much better then we had expected."

"By the way," he added, nodding towards the door. "You have a visitor."

The door opened, and a familiar woman walked in.

"Kira-san?!" Joey yelped, jumping up in surprise.

She laughed. "Oh, now, what it is with the –san? It may have been years, but aren't we still friends?"

Joey blushed. "Of course…Kira-_kun_."

Ryou jumped up and went to hug her. "I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too, kiddo." Kira smiled, looking around at her former charges. "You've all grown so much."

Marik stood, Malik beside him. "Sure have! Look! I'm almost as tall as him, now!" he laughed, nudging the taller teen.

"How'd you find us here?" Bakura asked, raising an eyebrow.

"A friend of yours called. Seto Kaiba. I believe his name was." Kira smiled. "He said to tell you he'd come by later. He's got good news."

"Oh?" Bakura asked, cocking his head. He had all but forgiven Seto and Yugi now, after so long. The two had proven themselves worthy friends.

"Yes." Kira nodded. She freed herself from Ryou's hug and walked over to the bed.

"Yami-chan, how're you feeling?" She asked softly, brushing away his bangs.

"All right." He smiled softly at her. Then he grinned. "You wouldn't believe how many times I've had to answer that question."

Kira chuckled. "Judging by the way Bakura was acting, I can't say I'm surprised."

She smiled affectionately at the youngest of her former charges. "I can't believe you're so grown up now. To me, you'll always be the little boy we named."

Yami blushed.

"He'll always be a kid to me." Bakura announced, ruffling the younger teen's hair.

"Kira, are you here to take us back?" Ryou asked, hope shining in his brown eyes.

"No, though I wish I was. I've never had others that quite replaced you six." Kira sighed wistfully. "But I can be happy knowing you'll go to a good home."

"How do you know?" Bakura asked gloomily.

"I do. Trust me." Kira winked.

Bakura narrowed his eyes slightly, but didn't say anything else.

"Now, tell me, how've you all been doing?"

A couple hours later, Seto and Yugi arrived.

"It's official." The CEO announced proudly, walking into the room and throwing a bunch of papers onto the bedside table.

"What's official?" Joey asked blankly, voicing his foster-brothers' question.

"You are now all officially under my care." Seto grinned.

There was a pause.

"Excuse me?" Bakura finally squeaked, staring at the CEO as though he had grown a third head.

"Perhaps I phrased it the wrong way…" Seto muttered. He cleared his throat and explained, "You see, I went to the people in charge and got permission for you all to live at my house. It wasn't as hard as you might think. I may be young, but I have a whole bunch guards and maids and what not. It's how my brother and I get to stay together in our own place. The government agreed to let you all stay together and live at my place."

"You knew!" Yami spoke up after a moment, looking at Kira.

"Yes." The woman smiled. "And I'm happy for all of you. It's a new beginning to a wonderful new chapter in your lives."

* * *

How was it? Short? I know. Sorry. This was originally a longer chapter that I decided to cut up into two.

Please review! Thanks!

P.S. One more chapter to go!


	6. Light

Well...thank you for your support, I really appreciate it. I really could have written more to this fic, but I just...decided to stop. For some reason, it was hard to keep this one going. I don't know why. Never had trouble like that with A Soul's Last Mission...

Anyhow, here is the kind of sappy conclusion to Walk With Me. Hope you enjoy it. I know the characters are really OCCed.

I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

* * *

Walk With Me

Chapter VI

Light

_The best things in life aren't things. At the end a long day, the best reward for your struggles is to be able to have someone to spend time with._

It was a breezy summer day. The birds were chirping, and the people were going about work as usual, excitedly anticipating their plans for the summer ahead.

Inside the Kaiba mansion, it was peaceful and quiet. The maids had left a snack on the table and cleaned the house before leaving. Their boss had given them the rest of the summer off. The butlers, too, were absent, having been released to return full time to their families for the vacation ahead.

It was a tranquil scene, the sweet scent of cookies wafting out of the kitchen, the songs of summer drifting through the window, mixing with the soft ticking of the clock, counting down the time.

Such scenes were just made – and written – to be disturbed.

You, dear reader, will not be disappointed.

For just then, the door burst open.

"I WIN!!!" the scream echoed through the halls. It was accompanied by laughter and accusations from the others boys.

"Aww, you're all sore losers. You know I won fair and square!" Seto smirked, taking a break from maintaining his usually calm and mature attitude.

"Yeah, right! You shoved!" Bakura snapped, though humor danced in his eyes.

"Yeah, big brother! You cheated!" Mokuba chirped in, mock glaring at his sibling.

"_Boys_, boys boy boys," Yugi said dramatically. "Let us try to act our age, shall we?"

"So says the short kid who came in dead last." Malik grinned.

"Do I smell cookies?" Yami piped up, heading towards the kitchen.

"Cookies? Wait for me!" Joey yelped, dashing after his younger brother.

"Hey, hey! I was here first!" Yami protested, as he and Joey scampered into the kitchen.

"I want some! They're mine!" Mokuba called, bouncing after the two.

"Save some for me!" Marik called, throwing his backpack onto the floor next to the door, and hurrying off to claim his share of the snack. Malik and Bakura darted after him.

Ryou shook his head with a smile. "C'mon, before they clean the plate," he laughed. With that, he and Yugi left Seto alone in the doorway.

The CEO smiled, listening to the sounds that floated to his ears from the kitchen, where his house-mates were devouring the snacks. Apparently, Joey and snatched the plate for himself. Big mistake, because now all the others were on him like a pack of wolves. He could hear Yami's laughter, slightly slurred by the food in his mouth. He recognized Bakura's mock growls, and Marik's real ones. He heard a clatter and a shout, and concluded that Malik must have tackled the blonde and forced him to drop the plate. He could picture Yugi and Ryou staying out of the play fighting, laughing as they watch the others' antics.

Over the past two and a half years, the group had become as close as family. The former foster children had gradually accepted the others into their group. Now they were all living happily under one big roof. The government now recognized them as one family, including Seto and his little brother. Yugi was staying with them for the time being, as his grandpa was on a five-year-long archeological trip. Ijuni had given them no further trouble. There are few things one can do from the inside of a maximum-security prison.

So the six foster brothers, plus Seto and Mokuba, were now being recognized as legal brothers. They (the "original six") all decided to keep their last names, for now. It was still too early to make the switch. They would know when the time was right.

"Seto? You coming?" Yami called, yanking him out of his thoughts.

He grinned. It meant a lot to hear Yami calling to him, to see him running and playing with the others. He would never be as strong as the boys his age. But it didn't matter to his friends and family.

Seto remember a paper he had written a few weeks ago, for his English class. He had been instructed to write something about his family. From there he was given free reign.

His paper had read:

_The family I have is a special one. Most of us were not born from the same parent. The blood that runs through our veins is not genetically the same, either. We come from different backgrounds, each with a slightly different history, and a slightly different story. But we are closer than a lot of blood-siblings are._

_Each of us has a role in our family. Each role is important, with its own value and job. We make up this circle. Our differences are what bind us together. We balance each other out. Just as the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle are each different, but all fit together in perfect harmony._

_I would call myself the leader. The thinker, head, and the brain._

_Malik is the backbone, the never wavering mountain._

_Marik is the temper, always quick to attack._

_Joey is the strength, who's always there to back Marik's threats._

_Bakura is the passion, the fire that keeps us going._

_Ryou is our peace, the one who makes us think, and keeps us calm._

_Mokuba is our joy and youth. Through him, we live the childhood we never had._

_Yugi, who is as much a part of our family as anyone else, is our hope, our innocence._

_And Yami. Yami is our unity, the one that keeps everyone bonded together._

_Without anyone one of us, our group, our family, would be no more._

aa

"Seto 'nii-san? You coming?"

Seto looked up to see Yami poking his head out of the kitchen door, looking at the older teen curiously. He had a cookie in his hand and crumbs on his shirt. He gazed at Seto with his knowing crimson eyes.

Seto gave the boy an affectionate smile. "Of course, little brother. Did you save any for me?"

Yami laughed his soft laugh, one that made Seto's once icy eyes sparkle, and held out the cookie in his hand.

* * *

Was it really bad? Even if it was, d'you think you could leave a review anyway? Please?

Well, that's it. Maybe someday, somewhere, inspiration will strick andled me to write a sequel.


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